NEW PITT ARCHIVE ALLOWS RESEARCHERS' WORK TO BE VIEWED ON-LINE WITHIN 24 HOURS

PITTSBURGH, April 26 -- A new electronic archive is in place at the University of Pittsburgh which allow scholars in the philosophy of science community to post their new works on-line for immediate review by colleagues.

The PhilSci Archive, offered as a free service, is the first of its kind in the field of philosophy of science. A collaboration by the University Library System (ULS), the University's Center for Philosophy of Science, and the International Philosophy of Science Association, the new archive will promote communication in the field by rapid dissemination of new work. Rather than waiting for their work to be published in a journal, which may come out only four or six times a year, researchers can submit it to the PhilSci Archive, and have it available for viewing within 24 hours.

The PhilSci Archive accepts preprints -- early versions of new works, often in preliminary form. This differs from a journal, in that those materials must pass scrutiny by referees and must be edited to adhere to journal standards. The archive does not referee postings or edit them. Whether or not a posting will affect subsequent attempts to publish in a journal would be a matter for individual journals to decide.

"This is a milestone for us in the development of the digital library effort at Pitt," saidULS director Rush Miller. "It allows scholars in this field to make their work accessible to others in a more timely fashion, and it is more broadly disseminated."

Authors wishing to submit papers must first establish a PhilSci Archive user account. Users seeking to locate papers that have been submitted can browse by subject, or search for papers by author, title, or keyword. An additional feature allows registered users to receive automatically e-mail alerts when new submissions in their particular interest become available. The PhilSci Archive is available at http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu.

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